Love Can Hurt
by TheLadyAssassin4678
Summary: Samantha Shepard is losing it. She has seen much but after her encounter with Kaidan, she is starting to break. She needs someone to help her pick up the pieces and a certain turian that everyone knows and loves can help her through this, and maybe be that certain someone in her life. Mass Effect 2 to the end of 3. Colinist sole survivor background. SOILERS AHEAD!
1. Chapter 1

**Love Can Hurt**

Chapter 1 The Pains of Being Gone

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Samantha Shepard sat alone in the mess with a cup of coffee, not wanting to be near anyone right now, and glad it was the night shift and it was only the skeleton crew. Not since…Kaidan. She felt herself shutter at the thought of what happened back on Horizon.

_ "Why didn't you didn't contact me?!"_

_ "Kaida-" _

_ "No Shepard, I thought we had something real! I loved you! And now you're working for Cerberus, you betrayed the Alliance and you betrayed me!"_

_ "Kaidan, please liste-"_

_ "No, I wanted to believe you were alive, to be with you again but I won't work for Cerberus. You've changed Shepard, goodbye and good luck."_

Tears sting her eyes and she profusely rubbed her eyes to keep the ones that fell off her face. She got up and left the table, not having had one drink of her coffee, and went towards the elevator, hitting the captain's cabin button in the process. She might as well try getting a little sleep.

.0.

Garrus turned in his small bed in the main battery. He couldn't stop thinking about happened Horizon. How hurt she must be feeling. Anger went through him, towards Kaidan. _How could he do that to her, the Bastard! _ He shot up from his bed and punched the wall. He immediately regrets the action as pain shot through his hand. He growled in frustration while holding his now injured hand walked out of the main battery to get pain killers. He stopped his walking as he heard a sharp intake of breath.

Walking quietly, he peered at the tables only to see Samantha rubbing her eyes, getting up and walking towards the elevator. He walked to where she was once seated and saw an untouched cup of coffee. He felt furious once more but this time kept his cool. He quickly got the pain killers and picked up the untouched coffee and headed towards the elevator.

.0.

Samantha walked into her room and sighed. She pulled her shirt over her head in favor a white tank top instead and quickly changed into shorts as well. She heard her terminal ping, telling her that she had a new message. She walked over to her terminal, only to have that picture of Kaidan show up and remind her of how much he hates her. She felt a mixture of sadness, pain, and anger course through her.

She picked up the picture of Kaidan and felt a tear fall from her face onto the picture. She suddenly yelled in anger and threw the picture against the fish tank. The picture shattered and left a large crack on the fish tank. She sank to her knees in anguish and finally let the tears flow free. She let out a sob and rested her head on her knees, her body shuddering with the sobs.

.0.

As Garrus exited the elevator he stopped and thought of what he was going to say. Hell he didn't know he just knew that Samantha needs support. He was brought out of his thoughts as he heard a yell and a crashing sound. He waited for a moment longer listening. He soon heard sobbing coming from her room. He quickly walked inside, not bothering to knock. He just needed to do…something…whatever it was.

.0.

Samantha heard the familiar swoosh of her door opening and brought her head up to see that it was only to see Garrus with her abandoned cup of coffee, and if she guessed was the turian equivalence to a look of concern. She knew her face was red and puffy from crying, but she didn't care but croaked out, "What do you need Garrus?"

"More like what do _you_ need, Samantha."

"I'm fi-"She was cut off abruptly by Garrus as he said, "No you're not fine Shepard, don't try to fool me with that shit. I know you're hurting just please, let me help you, and if not help then talk to me." By time he said that, he had set down the coffee and picked her up instead and set her on the edge of her bed. He was moving away to sit on her couch but he felt her grab hand and unconsciously felt a feeling of shock run through him he turned and looked at her as she said, "Please, just sit here." Her voice was so quiet and he saw the pain in her eyes, the sadness.

He nodded and sat beside her. Garrus looked at the women he would follow to hell and back, the women he admired and cared about, but that wasn't the women he knew. This was Samantha Shepard, not Commander Shepard, but instead a woman who has seen many things but had also had been through so much pain, more than he could ever imagine. He knew that she was slipping before and tried to help but had been pushed off and he left it alone. She had finally been broken, and it pissed him off to no end. He looked away from her in anger.

He looked back to her, seeing a piece of her red hair over her face; he resisted the urge to push it back behind her ear. "Samantha, I-"She finally just gave up trying to hold it in, and wrapped her arms around him and let the tears fall freely once more. Garrus was her closest friend and she knew that he was right, but didn't want to burden anyone.

Garrus was shocked by this but quickly wrapped his own arms around her, bringing her closer to him. She let her head fall onto his chest. Garrus felt an unknown feeling run through him as Samantha cried on him, but along with this feeling he felt protectiveness and pulled her even closer to him. She was soon on his lap, and she didn't seem to notice.

They sat like that for a while until Samantha felt her tears subside. Unknowingly while she was crying, Garrus had started stroking her hair and whispered sweet nothings into her ear. She brought her head up from his chest and looked up at him and he looked at her. His eyes holding a deep hate for, who she guessed, was Kaidan. "It's not his fault, Garrus." Her voice, soft and quite.

"I don't care. To see you like this just makes me want to kill him, and the only reason I didn't do it on Horizon was because I knew you would be hurt even more. I know you cared about him a lot and don't hate me for saying this but if he really loved you he wouldn't have cared what symbol was on your armor. Again I know it sounds horrible when I say it so bluntly but I'm trying to help you through this pain and hurt, because it's killing me seeing you like this." That same piece of hair was now stuck on her face from crying, and this time he brought his hand up and brushed it behind her ear. Instead of moving it away he let it caress her cheek. In response she put her own hand over his and rubbed her cheek against his hand. That same unknown feeling was back, but he realised that it was love. He loved her and he wanted nothing more than to hold and kiss her, tell her that he wouldn't let anything hurt her again.

Sighing he dropped his hand from her cheek and picked her up again. Knowing that what she still loved Kaidan. She looked at him in surprise but let him do as he wished. He moved the covers on her bed and set her down. He then moved the covers back over her and moved to leave.

Samantha saw Garrus moving to leave and felt…fear? Fear of him leaving? Fear of being left alone again? Whatever it was, it made her reach out and grab his hand for the second time tonight and ask, "Will you stay here tonight? Please? I don't want to be alone." She finished letting go of his hand and over on her side. He turned and looked at her in shock and felt happiness that she wanted him there, that there was a chance that he may be able to love her openly. He walked over to the other side of her bed and set himself down gently onto the bed. He felt Shepard's arms come around his chest and her head also finding its way to his chest. He couldn't resist the smile that formed on his face as brought his arms around Samantha and felt at peace. He felt Samantha's breathing slow and knew she was asleep. He rested his head on hers and whispered, "As long as you let me, Samantha, I won't let anything happen to you." He soon felt his own eyes grow heavy and let sleep embrace him.

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AN: So had this bothering me for a few days and I needed to write it down. So I hope you guys like the first chapter and will update when possible. (You have been warned!) Anyway Hope you guys like it and feel free to fav. and review. :D

R&R

-LadyAssassin


	2. Chapter 2 Losing and Gaining Love

**Love Can Hurt**

**Chapter 2 Losing and Gaining Love**

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Garrus woke; having the best sleep he's had in years. His mandibles spread in a turian grin and sighed in content. The movement to his side drew his eyes there. There slept Samantha Shepard, a small smile was on her lips as she subconsciously nuzzled into him. He grinned again at the sight of her so at ease. He brought up his hand and brushed the hair from her face, smiling the way her face scrunched up then relaxed as she hummed in content.

He let her sleep until EDI started talking, making him jump in surprise, which in turn woke Samantha up. "I'm sorry if I frightened you Commander, but the Illusive Man wishes to speak with you in the debriefing room. "Samantha opened one eye and replied sleepily, "Thanks EDI Anything else I need to know?"

"Miss Lawson and Mr. Taylor would like to speak with you."

"Thanks EDI. That will be all."

"Logging you out, Shepard."

Samantha sighed and moved to get up only she had a pair of arms wrapped around her. She looked only to see Garrus. He noticed her looking at him and quickly removed his arms and if a turian could blush he would be. "Uhh…" Samantha just smiled and kissed his mandible while whispering thanks. He moved to get up and leave and she looked at him, "Hey, Garrus, thanks for that. And…well we can talk later, okay?"

"Yeah, that'd be nice, Sam." She smiled at him. A genuine, happy smile and he felt himself smile back as he walked out her door.

Garrus went down to the mess and saw; Jacob, Miranda, Joker, Ken and Gabby, and Kelly. As he walked towards the kitchen to get himself some food, he felt all of their eyes on his back till Joker spoke up, "How bad is the damage? You know from what Alenko said."

Garrus frowned, "What do you think? If she wants to, she will tell you herself. It is not my place to say."

He grabbed his breakfast and sat next to Joker and began eating. Joker looked at him then sighed as he looked back at his own food, "She doesn't deserve the shit she takes from everybody. She deserves better." At that Joker looked back to Garrus. "She needs you, Garrus. We all know that if someone doesn't do something, that she will be broken beyond repair."

Garrus knew what he was saying was true and he wanted to be the one that catches her when she falls, but the decision falls to her. He can't force her to, no matter how much he loves her. Everyone was looking at him again. Looking for some kind of agreement. He just sighed and closed his eyes. "I don't know Joker I can only help as much as she lets me. Which we all know isn't a lot." He opened his eyes again and saw them all looking at their food. He felt determination run through him, "But I'm going to do my damn hardest to make her happy, to see her smile and be like before any of this reaper shit happened." Everyone smiled at him and nodded in encouragement, and they ate while talking normally.

Samantha walked out into the mess and heard all of them talking when she heard Joker and Garrus talking.

"She needs you, Garrus. We all know that if someone doesn't do something, that she will be broken beyond repair."

"I don't Joker I can only help as much as she lets me. Which we all know isn't a lot, but I'm going to do my damn hardest to make her happy, to see her smile and be like before any of this reaper shit happened."

She felt herself smile. _Does he really think of me as more than a friend? Who am I kidding; he just basically said it out loud!_ She thought to herself. She walked out to the mess, the smile still on her face, and everyone stopped talking. She frowned and turned to them, "Did someone just see a ghost or something? Why is everyone so quite?" No answer. She smiled softly, "I know all of you have concerns about my well-being, and I appreciate it, but I'm OK. I admit what happened yesterday certainly hurt but I know that I have people I can fall back on and talk to." Her eyes met Garrus' and her smile grew. She turned away and made herself a cup of coffee and a bowl of cereal and went and sat across from Garrus and Joker.

"Well I better get back to the bridge. See ya' guys later." Joker said as he got up and left.

"I should also return to my post, Commander." Kelly added as she also got up and left.

"As should we. Come on Jacob I have some things to talk to you about." Miranda, getting the idea, as she and Jacob stood up and left.

"Ken and I should get back down to engineering too." Gabby followed and elbowed Ken in the side signaling him to follow as well.

Samantha smirked as they all got up and left," And then there were two, or do have do some calibrations." She smirked as he scowled at her, but then let out a chuckle. "I think this is more of a coincidence." She also chuckled at that but her face grew serious as she brought up the topic they were both thinking about, "Garrus I-"But was cut off by EDI's voice. "Commander, the Illusive Man wanted me to inform you that his patience is growing thin and wants you to see him immanently."

"Shit…Thanks for the reminder EDI, I'll go see him now. That will be all."

"Logging you out Commander."

She turned and looked at Garrus with a small sad smile, "Discussion later in my cabin OK? We can watch Blasto too." Garrus just chuckled and nodded in agreement. "I'll see you around Sam." With that they both got up and went separate ways for now.

Samantha appeared in front of the Illusive Man with her arms crossed. She hated this man with every inch of her being and growled out, "What do you want _Illusive Man_." The last part she sneered out. The illusive Man just smirked at her, "Shepardit seems you have confirmed our suspicions that the collectors are working for the reapers and also managed to save half the colony, your _boyfriend_ included." Samantha's eyes dropped. "Only half? All of them should be there. This _can't _happen again."

"It's better than the whole colony. I also have a new list of dossier that I have sent to your terminal."

"Alright, anything else." She growled.

"I expect you to leave past relationships in the past." _Already done._ She thought bitterly but chose to say, "None of your damn biasness."

"If it inters fears with the mission it _is_ my business, Shepard. If you can't let him go then I _will_ intervene. And yes you can take that as a threat." He stated smugly and with a smirk, thinking it had an effect on her. _Go ahead, I could care less._ She thought as a scowl appeared on her face.

"That will be all, Shepard." And with that he ended the transmission.

Samantha let out a frustrated sigh and walked out of the briefing room and into the armory where Jacob stayed. She walked up to him and called, "Jacob, EDI said you needed to speak with me."

"Uh, yeah I do, though I don't know what to think of this." He replied unsurely.

"Jacob, you're a member of my crew and no matter how unrealistic it is, if you need help with something talk."

"Right Commander, sorry, it just the ship my father served on, the Gurnsback, has just sent out a distress signal. This ship has been missing for ten years so I do not think it is a coincidence, but… I don't know what I'm asking Shepard, but if it's possible could we go down there to see if it's real and people are still alive or find bones. I have to know Shepard."

"It's alright Jacob; we'll make time to go down there."

"Thanks Shepard, this means a lot."

She smiled at him and walked out the armory and into the elevator and headed down a floor to talk to Miranda.

Once she was just outside Miranda's door she knocked to be polite. She heard a muffled come in and walked into the room and saw Miranda looking out her window. Her normally perfect face was now twisted with concern and…fears? Samantha had never seen her so riled up before and asked, "Miranda what's wrong." Miranda looked at her and looked reluctant to say it but did anyway.

"I find myself in the awkward position of asking you for help. Remember how I told you about my father and his dynasty? Well when I left that fell to my sister to uphold…I rescued her from him and gave her as much of a normal life as possible. What worries me is that I believe my father knows where she is and is coming to get her. I've tried to do everything in my power to protect her from him without interfering with her life but I have no other choice now. I have set up a meeting with my contact, Lanteia, on Illium. I would like you to come with me while we relocate my sister."

"I will Miranda don't worry, your sister will be fine." Samantha said with a reassuring smile.

"Thank you…Shepard."

Samantha smiled at her while putting a hand on her shoulder. Miranda returned the smile and Samantha walked out the door and headed for the bridge to give Joker his new coordinates.

Samantha walked into the CIC and said "hello" to Kelly who in turn gave a "hello" back and walked up behind Joker and took his hat from his head and placed it on her own. Joker reacted, as if expecting it, and spun the chair and looked at her with fake glare. Samantha replied innocently, "Joker why are you glaring at me. It's hurting my feelings." Faking a sad frown.

Joker laughed, "Sam don't make me get up and get it myself. I know it would make you feel guilty for weeks." He said with a smirk. She reluctantly gave his hat back while saying in a pouty voice, "Meanie." Joker chuckled. "So Sam, where are we headed this time? Or did you just come up to talk."

"Unfortunately Joker, I'm just here to tell you to take us to Illium."

"That's too bad. Hey for our movie Friday, I have all the original Star Wars downloaded to watch if you want."

"How did you find the originals!?" She squealed in glee.

"Well when my job is mostly looking at buttons and sometimes pushing one, I tend to have a lot of time to search. So you want to watch them?"

"Is that even a question? Of course I do! You're the best Joker!" She laughed and kissed his cheek, then headed back to the elevator.

Joker smiled as she walked back to the CIC with happiness in every step. She really did deserve to be happy.

.0.

Samantha walked out of the shower and to her closet and slipped on a black t-shirt and black shorts and got Blasto ready on her holo projector. When everything was ready she called to EDI, "Hey EDI, could you tell Garrus to come up here please."

"Right away Shepard."

She knew it would take a few minutes for him to come here so she went to her terminal to check the messages she had received last night. She had three, one from her mother, one from the Illusive Man with the dossiers, and one from…Kaidan. She felt the blood drain from her face. Did she dare open the message from Kaidan?

Just then Garrus walked in. He looked at her and her shocked face and immediately went over and asked concerned, "What's wrong Sam?" He looked to her terminal and saw why she looked like she has seen a ghost. It was from Kaidan. He looked back to her. "Do you want to open this Sam?" Samantha recovered from her shock and looked back to Garrus. Did she want to open it? To feel pain again? Or did she want to move on, forget him?

She looked back to the screen. Garrus saw her deciding what to do. _No matter how much I hate him…she might still love him, and if she's happy…I will be too. _He thought sadly as he took her hand and moved it to open the message, "Sam, open it. I will be right here beside you, OK?" She nodded and clicked for the message to open.

_Sam, I'm sorry for what I said back on Horizon. I mean I spent two years pulling myself back together after you went down with the Normandy. It took me a long time for me to get over the guilt of surviving, and to move on. I finally let my friends talk me into getting some drinks with a doctor on the Citadel, nothing serious. Just to let myself have a life again, you know. And then…I saw you…and then…everything just pulled hard to port. I mean you were standing in front of me, but with Cerberus. I guess I don't know who either of us is anymore. Do you remember that night before Ilos? That night meant everything to me, and maybe just as much to you, but a lot has changed in two years. And I just can't put that aside, but please be careful. I've watched to many people close to me die, on Eden Prime, on Virmire, on Horizon, and…on the Normandy. I can't bear to lose you again. I mean if you are still the women I remember, I know that you are going to find a way to stop the collector attacks. But Cerberus is too dangerous to be trusted! Watch yourself. Look, when things settle down…maybe…I don't know…Just take care._

_-Kaidan_

_You don't know?! _Samantha thought angrily. She looked to Garrus who was still looking at her terminal. Soon enough he looked at her and asked quietly, "Do you still want to be with him Sam, after all this?"

She looked at him, her eyes searching his. "It was just like you said Garrus, if he loved me he wouldn't care what symbol was on my armor. I want to move on, he has his doctor an-"She was cut off by Garrus pulling her to him and kissing her. Her eyes fluttered shut as he ran his hands along her back. She pulled away to breathe and heard a disappointed growl coming from Garrus. Her cheeks flushed red and took Garrus' hand, leading him to the couch. "Thought this would be cozier." She said smiling. Garrus gave her a turian grin. "I highly doubt that we will be paying attention to the vid." Her cheeks turned a deeper red and he just chuckled while putting his arms around her, pulling her closer to him as the movie started. "I heard what you said in the mess, you know." He smiled at her and kissed her forehead. "I'm glad you did Sam."

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**AN:** I am really enjoying writing this and even though it not a lot, thanks for the favs., follows, and reviews. Not much else to say, so you you guys!

-LadyAssassin

**I DO NOT OWN MASS EFFECT! BIOWARE DOES!**

R&R


	3. Chapter 3 Memories

**Love Can Hurt**

**Chapter 3 Memories**

* * *

_Samantha looked towards the germen shepherd as it bounded towards her. She laughed as the mighty best jumped on her and licked her face. She pets the dog affectionately on the head but turned when she heard her friend call to her. "Hey Sam, we still going to the movies with Rick and Luke?" _

_ Samantha pushed her dog off of her as she stood up and turned to her friend, a small smile and blush made its way to her face. "Of course we are! I'd never cancel this double date for nothing, Tammy."_

_ Her friend let out a small chuckle. "I think you're just thinking about rubbing lips with Luke." She laughed even harder when Samantha's face turned a deeper shade of red._

_ "Yeah, yeah, laugh all you want… I got to go take Trixie home before we go, though." _

_ Tammy looked at the dog and pets her head. "Yes, 'cause Sam would never let her baby stay outside." She cooed with a baby voice._

_ Samantha laughed and started walking towards her house, both Tammy and Trixie soon following behind her. When they reached her house she walked in side and shouted for her parents. "Mom! Dad! I'm about to leave to go to the movies!" She soon heard thuds coming down the stairs. She saw her little sister bound down the stairs in delight, a happy grin on her face._

_ She giggled out. "So when do we go!?" _

_ Samantha frowned and crouched to make herself level with her small, eight year old sister. "I'm sorry Mya, but you can't come this is going to be a movie for big kids." She said gently. She grimaced as she saw Mya's face fell. _

_ Samantha smiled at her sister and whispered into her ear," Besides, we are going to kiss boys. Are you sure you still want to come?"_

_ Mya made a disgusted face and shook her head but then ran off to her room just as her parents made it down the stairs. Tammy stifled a giggle at Mya's reaction to whatever Samantha had said to her younger sister while Samantha looked up to her parents and smiled. "Hey mom, hey dad we were just about to go to the movies. I was just dropping off Trixie."_

_ "We know, try and stay out of trouble." Her mom spoke with a smile. Her dad, however, didn't seem too pleased. "Just don't do anything besides kissing your boyfriends." Her dad growled._

_ Tammy chuckled," don't worry Mr. and Mrs. Shepard. I'll keep Sam in line." All three girls laughed as Samantha's father visibly paled. Samantha recovered from the laughter first and started pushing Tammy towards the door and left with an "I'll be back later" and the both started down the sidewalk to the movies._

_They were soon in front of the movie theatre and saw both Rick and Luke. Rick had tan skin, chocolate brown eyes, and has brown hair that was all nice and neat. Luke had much paler skin, black hair that almost covered his brilliant green eyes. Both were a little over six feet tall and had a strong build that made both girls blush. _

_ Luke and Rick smiled as they looked the two girls up and down. Samantha was wearing a white T under a black coat in skinny jeans in black knee-high boots. Her red hair was in a braid to the left and it let her beautiful green eyes shine in the lights on the streets. Luke smiled at her, more than approving of her outfit. Rick was paying more attention to Tammy who was wearing a black tank top in boot cut jeans and black sandals. Her black hair was left down and covered a portion of her tan shoulders. Both boys nodded towards the theatre, Rick took Tammy's hand as they started walking in and Luke and Samantha linked arms as they started walking in._

_ They stopped when the heard a huge crash. They all turned around as they saw a building across from them come falling towards them. Samantha's eyes went wide, her mind trying to process what was happening. She felt herself being pushed to the side by someone. She was brought back to reality when she heard a scream. She realized that that was Tammy and she soon heard Rick yelling for help too. She got up and ran for her friend whose leg was trapped underneath the rubble with Luke and Rick trying to get her leg out. She ran over as well but as soon as she made it over Tammy's body fell, reviling a bullet hole in the middle of her for head. "Tammy!" She screamed as she ran over to her limp body, tears already pouring down her face. She looked up and looked for the shooter…batarians. She growled in anger but soon felt despair as one of the batarians shot Rick too. Luke wasn't letting neither he nor Samantha die too. He grabbed her arm and started pulling her away from the two bodies. When she refused to leave he grabbed her by her waist and slung her over his shoulder and, as quickly as he could, got them to cover. _

_ He put her down and grabbed her shoulders and stated calmly, "Sam, we have to get out of here."_

_ Samantha looked down then up to his eyes a new wave of fear running through her. "My family! We have to go there, please!" She cried quietly so she did not give up their position. He nodded, knowing that she was going to go weather he agreed or not. _

_ They sneaked past a few of the batarians and went in a back-way towards her house and cut through her family's field, and ran to into the house through the back door. She shouted for her family and she heard her dad answer from their basement. She pulled Luke down with her and she sighed in relief at the sight of her family unharmed. She let go of Luke's hand and ran into her father's strong arms, her mother and sister same into the hug as well. Sam's dad kissed the tops of their head and whispered protectively, "I'm not going to let anything happen to my girls." _

_ Luke felt out of place and as if her dad felt it he looked up and straight at Luke and smiled with tears in his eyes, let go of the three girls and walked over to him and hugged him. "Thank you, for bringing my baby girl home." Sam smiled as she looked at both of the men. _

_ They loving moment soon passed as they heard the doors being broken open. Her dad commanded the girls get into the corner, turned to Luke and handed him a pistol and said two words "Protect them". Luke nodded and her dad turned off the lights._

_ They heard muffled voices above. "Have you found anyone?"_

_ "No sir." One reported. _

_ "There are three females and one male from all the stuff they got." Spoke another voice spoke._

_ The one that was called "sir" spoke again. "Keep the females alive if you can, but kill the male." There were five "yes sirs" in reply. She guessed he was the leader._

_ Samantha's mom held on to both she and Mya who was silently crying into Sam. She in turn clutched her sister not letting her go. She saw the silhouette of her dad, Luke, and Trixie as they were ready to protect them at all costs. She felt her throat tighten as the door started to open and they saw the head of a batarian pop through the door way. "Someone get the lights." The batarian in the doorway commanded. Her dad motioned for them to get into the connecting room in the basement and they complied. Luke, her dad and Trixie followed into the room and then the lights came on. Mya was shaking as she clung to Sam while Sam tried to swallow the lump in her throat. _

_ "Check that room. They are in there. I can smell them." The batarian, who she assumed was the leader, ordered. Then a batarian came into the room and her dad shot him in the chest. The batarian fell to the ground with a gurgle as he choked on his own blood. _

_ "They're armed!" A second batarians cried as he walked into the door way. He screamed in pain as her dad also shot him. The last three came in together and. They opened fire on her father and he slumped to the ground, blood flowing from the wounds and his mouth. _

_ "Daddy!" Mya cried as she let go of Sam and ran for their lifeless father. "Mya!" Her mother yelled as she went for Mya. One of the batarians attempted to go for her mom and sister, but Luke shot the batarian, who then fell right in front of Sam's mother and sister. One of the last batarians shot Luke in the abdomen, the other shot her mother. They went to grab her sister and Trixie launched herself at the batarian, bringing him to the ground and bighting him repeatedly. While the batarian struggled with Trixie, Sam ran over to Mya and held her. A gunshot and a yelp went through the air as the leader had shot her beloved germen shepherd and help the injured comrade back to his feet. _

_ They came towards the two girls, the injured one taking her sister and the leader picking up Sam by her neck. Sam kicked and screamed as she saw her sister disappear beyond the door way, still hearing her petrified screams echo throughout the house. The leader shoved her against the wall, his hand still on her neck, as his other hand traced down the length of her body, he growled in approval and growled out, "I should just keep you as my personal slave. You are very beautiful for a human." He chuckled as he began to lick her neck. Sam felt herself go cold at the realization of what he was doing. She felt more tears slide down her face then…BANG! The batarian leader's head exploded, blood landing on her face, and the corpse fell to the ground. She fell to her knees and released a breath she didn't know she was holding and looked towards Luke who managed to pull himself to a wall, a hand on a wound on his abdomen and another holding the pistol her father had given him. She ran over to him. "Luke!" She cried into his chest. "Th-they have M-Mya!" She sobbed. _

_ He let go of the gun and put his arm around her. "There is nothing you can do now, she's gone." _

_ "No! She can't be! I-I can still save her!" She sobbed into him. He said nothing else just ran his hand up and down her back. She felt something warm and sticky on her hands and looked up to him. "Oh my gosh! You're still bleeding! I have to go get you medigel." _

_ "Just get yourself into the woods. Don't worry about me, I'm dead weight. I'll get you killed." He gasped out. _

_ "Like hell I'm leaving you. I lost everyone and I'm not going to lose you too. There is some medigel in the bathroom upstairs." She persisted._

_ "…Fine go get it, but take the pistol with you. I can't let anything happen to you." He smiled and handed her the pistol. She smiled and gave him a small peck on the lips, took the pistol, and hastily walked up the stairs. _

_ Her house was a disaster, furniture was overturned, pictures were broken, and all there food had been went through. She looked in every room for more batarians but found no one. She sneaked up the stairs and looked in all the rooms like she did downstairs. Once she knew nobody else was in the house she ran into her bathroom and grabbed all the medigel and went downstairs to the basement. _

_ When she looked at Luke again he was much pale. How long had she been down there? His eyes were closing every few moments. She didn't have a lot of time. Rushing over to him, she applied the medigel and the bleeding stopped. They both let out a sigh of relief. She knew this wouldn't last, she just hopped they got out a distress beacon in time. She helped him up and he let out a strangled cry as pain shot through him, but he continued, ignoring Sam's concerned eyes. Once they were in the kitchen she went over to the window to see if there was anyone outside. She felt her hand go for the pistol as batarians started coming towards her home. They walked in, and out of instinct and anger she shot one, then another. They were dead before they even realized what was going on._

_ She turned and put an arm around Luke's waist and his arm around her shoulder. He was confused but all she did was nod back to the group of batarians that now lay dead in their own blood. His brows shot in surprised and was about to ask her how she did it, but he shut his mouth when he saw an angry sneer on her face. He looked to where she was walking and saw that she was heading towards the woods._

_ Samantha and Luke sat in the wood. Luke cringed as Samantha removed his shirt to get a better look at the wound. She hasn't said a word since they left the house, not since she had killed that group of batarians. He still didn't know how since he was still light headed from the blood loss. He inhaled sharply as she applied more medigel. She looked up at him concern in her gaze. He mouthed I'm fine and she smirked for a moment and rolled her eyes. She rested his head on her lap and ran her fingers through it. He hummed in appreciation. He was brought out of the trance as she spoke softly, her fingers still running through his hair. "Do you think help will come? That we'll be saved?" She wasn't looking at him, lost in thought._

_ "I sure hope so." He said softly as he ran his hand across her cheek. She flinched at the contact, and for a minute looked down at him with a look that could kill. Those damn batarians are going to pay for what they have done to his Sam._

_ Samantha woke up from her unrestful sleep as he heard a strangled, pained, cry. She looked only to see Luke holding his wound as fresh blood slipped through his fingers. His head was still on her lap and she instantly took off her shirt and used it to stop the bleeding. The shirt soon became soaked with blood, his blood. He looked at her; they both knew he wouldn't survive. Tears silently fell from her face as she held him in her arms. He smiled at her and caressed her cheek. She leaned down and kissed him, a soft loving kiss. They pulled back from each other and he whispered, "I love you." She didn't have time to say anything back as his eyes rolled back into his head, and he died silently in her arms._

.0.

Garrus was startled from sleep as he heard a horrifying scream and thrashing coming from his left. He turned and saw the one who was screaming was Samantha. She had tears running down her face. He reacted by grabbing her shoulders and shaking her while he steadily commanded, "Sam, wake up, it's just a dream."

Her eyes flew open as she let out a final scream that made him wince. Realizing that she was on the _Normandy_ and not Mindoir, she calmed down just a bit but the pain was still there after all these years. She left her breathing level and met Garrus' worried eyes and rests her head on his chest. "I'm sorry Garrus I just…had a bad dream."

"Do you want to talk about it?" He soothed while stroking her red locks.

She sighed into his chest. "I just dreamed about what happened on Mindoir. How I lost everyone and I won't get them back. How the batarians took my sister and I wasn't able to do anything, how my friend died, how my parents died, how my dog died, and even…how my boyfriend, at the time, died. I killed a group of them, you know. I still don't know how, I was just so angry and scared, I just…reacted.

Luke…my boyfriend at the time, died in my arms right as the shuttle from the Alliance landed. I yelled at them, telling them that they should have gotten here earlier. They helped me bury my parents, my dog, and Luke. It hurt so much to feel like that, to know that everyone else was either dead or taken as a slave. I can still feel the guilt as I saw a batarian take my sister away while I was being held in place by the leader. H-he said that I should be his personal slave. If it wasn't for Luke he would have…" She felt new tears fall freely at the horrible memory.

Garrus growled in anger, wanting to kill any batarians he saw, but felt…appreciation towards her now dead boyfriend, who gave his life protecting her. He brought his taloned hand up and underneath her face so that she was looking at him. "Don't cry." He whispered soothingly as he kissed her forehead.

Her tears subsided and she smiled, kissing him on mandible and brushed her fingers along his scarred face. He purred and nuzzled into her neck. She giggled and threw her head back and gave him better access to her neck. He loved the sound of her giggling and continued to nip and kiss her neck. She laughed and pulled away, making Garrus growl as he looked into her green eyes with his piercing blue ones, promising to protect her. Her eyes softened as she got up and saw him have a slight pout.

She grinned mischievously. "What do we have here, Garrus Vakarian pouting because he did not get his way? Well I will have to fix that later, won't I?"

His mandibles flutter as he thought of what to say while she just laughed and went to her terminal since she still needed to look at the new dossiers. She transferred the dossiers to a data pad and walked over to her music player and put on some old rock music from 2012, what can she say, she likes the classics. The first song that played was her favorite. Swing Life Away by Rise Against and started sing to it as she sat back down next to Garrus.

"Am I loud and clear, or am I breaking up?  
Am I still your charm, or am I just bad luck?  
Are we getting closer, or are we just getting more lost?

I'll show you mine if you show me yours first  
Let's compare scars, I'll tell you whose is worse  
Let's unwrite these pages and replace them with our own words

We live on front porches and swing life away,  
We get by just fine here on minimum wage  
If love is a labor I'll slave till the end,  
I won't cross these streets until you hold my hand

I've been here so long, I think that it's time to move  
The winter's so cold, summer's over too soon  
Let's pack our bags and settle down where palm trees grow

I've got some friends, some that I hardly know  
But we've had some times, I wouldn't trade for the world  
We chase these days down with talks of the places that we will go

We live on front porches and swing life away,  
We get by just fine here on minimum wage  
If love is a labor I'll slave till the end,  
I won't cross these streets until you hold my hand...until you hold my hand

I'll show you mine if you show me yours first  
Let's compare scars, I'll tell you whose is worse  
Let's unwrite these pages and replace them with our own words

We live on front porches and swing life away,  
We get by just fine here on minimum wage  
If love is a labor I'll slave till the end,  
I won't cross these streets until you hold my hand

Swing life away, swing life away, swing life away, swing life away."

As she finished the song Garrus looked at her in surprise. She didn't even have to concentrate on the words because she was still scrutinizing the dossiers. She looked up and saw his surprised face. "Hey, just because I can't dance, doesn't mean I can't sing."

He let out a bark of laughter. "So who are we picking up now?"

Her face scrunched up in thought. "Well, a drell assassin named Thane Krios; he is on Illium right now, which is a good thing since we were heading there anyway. An asari justicar named Samara, she is also on Illium. And Tali, she's on Haestrom doing some mission for the fleet.

So, when we get to Illium, which should be soon, we'll split up. Miranda needs to relocate her sister so I'll go with her. I'll let you get Samara and afterwards you will get Thane. When we finish relocating Miranda's sister we'll come and join up. The once those things are done then we can go get Tali."

Garrus didn't like the idea of leading again but nodded to her plan, knowing it was the best plan of action. "Alright, sounds good."

She smiled and put a hand on his arm. "I know you can do this. But we should both get ready. We should be there soon." He smiled in return and got up and left her room feeling a little more confident about the upcoming missions.

She sighed, grabbed a fresh change of clothes and headed to the washroom. _Today is certainly going to be a long day. _She thought to herself as she turned on her shower and got ready for the day.

.0.

Twenty minutes later Sam was walking through the CIC, heading straight for Joker. "Hey Joker, how far away from Illium?"

"About ten minutes, Sam."

"Thanks Joker. EDI can you please tell gather everyone in the debriefing room?" She asked the AI

"Of course Shepard." The AI's feminine voice replied.

Sam nodded and headed to the debriefing room, Jacob right on her heels. Soon everyone was assembled in the room and she could start. "Alright everyone we have new people to pick up. Two of them are on Illium, Thane Krios and Samara. Now Miranda, I know you have some business to do there so I'm splitting us up into two groups. Garrus will be in charge of the second group and you will be getting Thane and Samara, Miranda and I will go take care of her business. I expect you to take orders from him as you would me, am I clear." The only ones she worried about taking orders from Garrus was Jack, Grunt, and Zaeed, but she was confident Garrus could do it.

She received a yes ma'am, yeses, and whatever from them and nodded. "Good now all of you get ready. Kasumi, Jacob, Zaeed, and I will help you guys as soon as possible." They all nodded and continued their way out of the debrief room. Joker's voice came over the speaker, asking if she wanted to dock. She quickly said yes and went back up to her room to get her armor on.

.0.

Once she had her armor on she walked into the armory to get her M-98 Widow and her M-6 Carfinex, and then waited near the air lock for everyone else. They all came one by one, ready to go. She counted everyone then nodded as the exited the _Normandy_, ready to get this mission over with.

When they were walking out of the airlock an asari and to mechs greeted them. The asari told them that their docking fees had been paid by Liara. Samantha was shocked to say the least, as was Garrus. When they questioned the asari deflected them and told them to go speak with Liara. Samantha turned to their group, sighing deeply through her nose. It's not that she didn't like Liara, but they were in a hurry to get to Tali. "Alright change of plans…Miranda go ahead and talk to your contact, I'll be there shortly. Garrus, you go ahead and start your search for Thane and Samara. I'll go talk to Liara."

They all nodded and started walking away, Garrus casted a glance back at her as she stayed behind to ask the asari where to find Liara. She thanked the woman and walked towards her office. She walked up the stairs and saw an asari, who was not Liara, sitting behind a desk across from another door. The asari looked up, an all too friendly smile. "Hello ma'am, I am Nyxeris, Miss T'Soni's secretary, do you have a sechedualed appointment with her?"

"Um…no…But Liara knows who I am, she asked me to come and see her."

"Could I have your name please, so that I can inform Miss T'Soni of your arrival?"

"Commander Samantha Shepard." Nyxeris began typing into her terminal, then rose from her seat and began walking to the door across from them.

Sam and Nyxeris walked into the room only to see Liara and a holo of a man. "Have you faced an asari commando before? Few humans have. I'll make it simple. Either you pay me, or I flay you alive. With my mind. "Liara didn't seem to notice either of them until after she made her threat to the man. She turned around quickly, surprise and guilt written over her face.

"Samantha!" She looked at Nyxeris. "Nyxeris, hold my calls." The other asari bowed her head and left the room. Liara turned her attention back to Samantha and walked over to her. Liara's happiness was evident as she pulled Samantha into a warm embrace.

As if still not believing her eyes the asari whispered, "Ahh…Sam." Even though Sam should be in a hurry, she wrapped her own arms around her, hugging Liara back. Liara pulled back and had a semi-serious face on, something the commander did not expect to see. "My sources said you were alive, but I never believed…It's good to see you." The last part she finished with a smile.

Sam shook her head and ran a gloved hand down it while sighing, "How much did I miss? Since when do you make threats to flay people alive, have "sources", and is serious. What happened to my happy archeologist?"

A wave of emotions flashed over Liara's face as she sighed. "A lot has happened Sam, some things larger than others…" Guilt etched into her face. "I've been working as an information broker… It's paid the bills since you… well for the past two years. And now your back, hunting the Collectors alongside with Cerberus." As if the asari knew Sam would argue she quickly added in, "And I know you are not with them intentionally, that if you had the chance you would go back to the Alliance."

Sam nodded. "Then you know I could use some help with this, you know." Her eyes pleading.

Liara felt pained as she denied helping her friend. "I can't, Sam. I'm sorry. I have commitments here, things I need to take care of."

Sam nodded in understanding. "What kind of things do you need to take of? I'm busy right now but I can help. Are you in trouble?"

Liara smiled at her friend's willingness to help. "No, no trouble. But it's been a long two years. I had things to do, debts to repay. But when you have time, if you want to, I need someone with hacking expertise; I know you are good with tech. If you could disable security at key points around Illium, you could get me information I need. That would help me a great deal."

Sam was taken aback by the request. "What the hell, Liara! You're asking me to hack into security for information, that's a big deal! Can't you just talk to me?" _Why is it that everyone is so different! Because this is not the Liara I know._

Liara looked hurt. "Don't you think I want to, Sam. I wish I could tell you more but…I don't want you to get too involved with this mess. I will handle it on my own, please Samantha this is all I ask."

Sam breathed through her nose. "Fine, I'll get it done…" Sam's omni-tool lit up; tell her she had a new message. She opened it, it was from Garrus.

_Hey Sam,_

_Hope your talk with Liara is going good, tell her I said "hi". Wish I could say the same. We've got a problem though. We have no idea where to start. Nothing on the dossier tells us where to find them. Help would be appreciated._

_-Garrus_

An idea popped into her head. She looked back to Liara, who was looking at her curiously. "Who was it from Sam?"

"Garrus, he said "hi" by the way. Anyway, we have a problem. We are looking for to more people to recruit for our mission but we don't know where to find them. Since you have information and a lot of things, do you know of anyone by the names of; Thane Krios and Samara?"

Liara's eyes lit up. "Samara…" She typed into her terminal. "Yes. She recently arrived and registered with Tracking Officer Dara. You can find Dara at the transportation hub. And with the assassin…" She typed into her terminal again. "He arrived here a few days ago. It seems he may be targeting a corporate executive. Do you remember Nassana Dantius, the one who tricked us into killing her sister? Anyway, he contacted a woman named Seryna. She has an office in the cargo transfer levels. She may be able to tell you where Krios is."

Sam smiled as she began typing a message back to Garrus.

_We're in luck, Garrus._

_Apparently, if you didn't know already, Liara has turned into an information broker. That being said, I managed to get two leads on our recruits me back at Eternity. It will be best to do this in person. And if you see Miranda, tell her I'll be there soon._

_-Sam_

She got up and hugged Liara again. "Thanks Liara, this is going to make things so much easier. When I'm done I will be sure to come and talk to you before I leave."

Liara hugged back. "I'll hold you to that Sam. It was good to see you again."

As she left, Sam nodded at Nyxeris, and walked towards Eternity. Her mind going over the information Liara had given her. As she walked into Eternity, she saw none of her squad mates besides Miranda who was already walking towards her, her face troubled. She was about to ask what's wrong but a voice, one that she never hoped to hear again, called out to her. "Is that you!?Commander Shepard it's me! Conrad Verner!"

* * *

**AN: **Okay, this chapter has taken a bit yes, I hope it's not to long. Not a lot going on now, but there will be some action next ch. I really hope this chapter gets a little more reviews. They make me so happy! And yes...I could not leave Conrad out of this... I will also be including all DLCs from both ME2 and ME3.

Anyway, R&R

-LadyAssassin


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